Sunrise weighing 4 a.m. closing time for bars

SUNRISE — To hear bar owner Jim Hay tell it, an hour can make all the difference between success and failure. Especially if the bars in the next city stay open later.

Hay is one of about eight bar owners urging a 4 a.m. closing time for watering holes in Sunrise that qualify for a special "extended hours" license.

They are close to getting their wish.

Sunrise commissioners gave tentative approval to the plan last month in a 4-1 vote. A final vote is expected on April 24.

"We stay open until 3 a.m. on Saturday," said Hay, who owns Cocomo's Bar & Grill. "We think we should be able to stay open until 4 a.m. like the bars in the entertainment district."

Bars in Sunrise are required to close at 1 a.m. unless they have a special license to stay open later. With an extended-hours license, they can stay open until 3 a.m. on Fridays and Saturdays and 2 a.m. on other nights.

Nightclubs in the Western Sunrise Entertainment District with an extended-hours license can stay open until 4 a.m. on Fridays and Saturdays and 3 a.m. on other nights.

Commissioner Sheila Alu cast the only dissenting vote March 27. Alu said she was worried about an increase in DUIs if bars throughout the city had a 4 a.m. closing time.

Bar owners are not objecting to the rule that they provide cab service or free towing to intoxicated patrons.

"It's our responsibility that if anyone is intoxicated that they make it home safely," said Cheryl Miller Scott, who owns Buzz's Bar.

Bars that stay open later will have to hire off-duty police officers or licensed security guards during a four-hour time frame determined by the police chief or his designee.